It will search for an alternative configuration file in the application classpath (you usually provide these alternative configuration files into your application conf/ directory before packaging). Play will look into conf/ so you don’t have to add conf/.

It is possible to change the file path to the created RUNNING_PID file which contains the process id of the started application. Normally this file is placed in the root directory of your play project.

$ start -Dpidfile.path=instance1

This changes the directory relative to the root folder. You could also use absolute paths. With this option it is possible to start multiple play instances without colliding RUNNING_PID files (actually play won’t start another instance). Don’t forget to create the directory.